The Ones Left Behind
by fanfic1892
Summary: When the war is through and everything is said and done, everyone can go home and continue their lives. What about the people who never got their "Happily-Ever-After"? What happens when two people who deserved more, decide to take their happiness into their own hands? Nico/Reyna! Friendship NOT NICOXREYNA


Just another file

Life had taken a collective sigh of relief. The pain and despair was over and everyone got was on the way to an exquisite happily ever after. Percy and Annabeth were sure to settle down soon and raise a family, Frank and Hazel were going to take some time to find out more about each other on a world-wide vacation, and Jason and Piper planned on spending the rest of their teen years in California, just seeing what happened. The world was perfect and nobody was left behind.

Except two people that is. Though those two had more than deserved a break, they got the consolation prize. Of loneliness. Nico Di Angelo and Reyna Ramirez were left in two different situations, but with the same feelings. Nico had to watch Percy, his crush, grow closer and closer to Annabeth each day while having to keep up the façade of being a happy Ghost King.

Reyna had not only fallen for the son of Poseidon, but also Jason Grace, her ex-co-praetor. Both of them had moved on and forgotten her. Octavian was the only person in New Rome who would take Jason's place and Reyna was so desperate, that she agreed. Now she was given the job of running the legion _and_ making sure that her colleague didn't get too power hungry.

Needless to say, they were both heartbroken and tired. Tired of being the one left out. Tired of not having a chance at a happily ever after.

Reyna gazed out from her mansion bitterly. The view was amazing- lush green hills, a perfectly sunny California day, parents taking their children to the park for a day of fun- Everything was perfect. When she looked at the hills they reminded her of the times she would walk with Jason on them and talk about anything and everything. When she looked at the people frolicking around in the sunshine she remembered Percy's love for the fact that it never rained at Camp Jupiter do to it's western location. Mostly, the families enjoying the day made her heart throb at the idea of the future she could've had with either one of the boys.

Nico stared up at his father's palace angrily. He had no good memories of the place or bad memories of the place. It was the only thing that wouldn't remind him of all he'd lost and suffered. Bianca, Percy, going into Tartarus, the strange looks people gave him wherever he went.

It surprised him that _this_ out of all places would be the one that had no memories. He had locked Percy in those dungeons, Bianca was down here somewhere, and a pit straight to Tartarus was barely half a mile away.

'_The dead must block out my problems,'_ he thought. '_Down here nobody has a happily ever after. Even the ones in Elysium or the Isle of the Blessed, they left something behind.'_

He knew that he needed to get away and go somewhere that he could start a new life: The mortal world had too many monsters. Camp Half Blood had too many reminders. That left one place. That place wasn't even an amazing option, but it was the best he was going to get: Camp Jupiter. He turned away from the looming castle and ran towards the nearest shadow. (Which wasn't very hard considering he _was_ in the Underworld)

Nico would never get used to shadow travel. Sure, it had gotten easier over the years, but it still made him queasy. He also never seemed to be able to get the landings right, because he toppled right onto a very depressed and startled praetor

"Hey!" She cried, trying to sound indignant. Her voice cracked in the end "Well sorrrrry." Nico grumbled.

Reyna had seen Nico around camp and knew of him, heck, she had been on a quest with him. But not once had she ever actually spoken to the child. Reyna was about to kick him out when she got a good look at his face. It was so young, most likely only thirteen, and his expressions mirrored ones that she saw in her moments that she let go of her mask of regales and sophistication. He had lost so much.

"Nico…" she started.

"What?" He bitterly retorted.

Reyna quickly thought of a good thing to say. She had extensive diplomatic experience but now she was at a loss for words. Thankfully, he beat her to it.

"I mean…uh…yes?" He awkwardly asked. It wasn't much, but it was better than she had done. His rephrase had given her the time she needed to come up with an adequate response.

"So… do you always drop in my house before visiting the rest of camp?"

He blushed and gave a soft smile before returning to his solemn bitter glare.

"No."

"Oh… Well… where have you been lately?" She honestly didn't know why she was even talking to him. Everyone else avoided him like the plague. Maybe that was why, she could relate to people not wanting to get to know her.

Nico caught on to the fact that she was trying to have a conversation. No matter how anti-social the boy was, he wasn't slow.

"Well, uh… the underworld… I guess?"

Any sane person would feel sorry for him. But Reyna, who had been doubting her sanity anyway, was slightly jealous. Nico could hide from his problems, but she was left to face them with no protection. She figured that would be an interesting conversation.

"You're luckily."

"I'm Fine… wait what?"

"You're Lucky. There aren't any reminders in the underworld."

"Oh?"

"There's dead people. Dead people have as bad as you do," she said quickly.

"You don't know that," he muttered. "Dead people don't have problems. _You _don't have problems. You belong here. I don't belong anywhere. Not even with the dead people."

Reyna was livid. "How dare you?!" she screeched. "I've been through so much and I got nothing. I defied our most sacred laws to save this place and even though I got to keep my job, people still talk about me. You of all people should know that. I went through the ancient lands with you. You know how hard that was. And don't even get me started on that dratted son of Jupiter!"

Nico stared at her as if trying to figure out how to respond to this out of character behavior. Reyna must've been holding this for a long time, because when she finished her sentence, the stone cold praetor of new Rome broke into sobbing tears.

Nico was completely dumbstruck. He had never had to comfort anyone. Bianca had always been the tear wiper when he was little, and his father certainly never had needed/given a hug.

He slowly put a hand on her and occasionally muttered things like "shhh," and "There there." The rest of his body still kept far away as if there was a force field surrounding the sobbing girl's body. Eventually she calmed down enough to start talking again.

"You don't know what it's like. To love someone you can't have. I mean, I fell in love with Percy Jackson. The most loyal human in the world who is in love with someone else!" she giggled as if she were drunk. "I fell in love with Percy Jackson." She whispered.

"I did too." Nico told her simply. "_She poured her heart out to me,_" Nico thought. "_I at least owe her something."_

Reyna's response was one of surprise. Her mouth kept opening and closing. "You?" she said.

"Yea, me." Nico replied. He had let it out. He might as well give the whole story. "The first time I saw him, he was fighting a monster to save my sister and I." Reyna shut up immediately. Nico _never_ talked about his past and especially never talked about his sister.

"He was amazing. The monster was a manticore. He was slashing every which way, and deflecting all of the spikes. Eventually I developed a crush on him. After Bianca died, I hated him with a passion. I thought it was his fault. One time I walked in on him talking to her via Iris Message!"

"Wait, Reyna cut in. You mean your sister contacted him… from the dead?"

"Yes, but that isn't the point."

"Oka-"

"Anyways, I hated him even more. Sometime before the Greek's final battle, I had come to terms with him and stopped the hating him, which transitioned back into a crush."

Reyna was silent for a little while, processing what had just happened. Then she opened her mouth and said, "I see… Well Nico, we might just have more in common than I thought."

At that moment, there was a knocking on Reyna's door. It was Octavian.

"Reyna! Come out! We must go the senate meeting!"

She sighed and looked at Nico. "It was nice talking to you, but you'd better go before Octavian busts down the door, sees us here, and gets the wrong Idea."

Nico nodded and let out a little smile. "Same, I'll be on my way."

He walked towards the nearest shadow, a particular corner where the sunlight and lanterns didn't quite reach. He was partially gone when Reyna called back to him.

"Oh, and Nico?"

He quickly dissolved back. "Hmm?"

"Feel free to drop in anytime."

This time he let out a full grin. "Thanks."

Later that day, as Reyna was suffering through yet another senate meeting, she thought about the son of Hades and smiled. She received some odd looks since they were reviewing the case of a boy who had been found dead in a creek, but it felt so good she couldn't stop.

At around the same time, Nico was sitting in his father's palace. He didn't quite know why, but an unknown feeling spread over him and he couldn't shake it off. The feeling wasn't a bad one. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The boy walked past a mirror and as he gazed into the upturned mouth and saw the sparkle in his black eyes, he immediately place the feeling; Happiness. He made a spur of the moment decision. The Ghost King, for the third time that day, sprinted head long into a shadow. When he opened his eyes, the field of Camp Jupiter spread around him.

As he strolled the streets of New Rome, Nico thought about his life. Not just the bad parts, but the good parts too. The time's he had spent laughing with Bianca, when he had come into Percy's house for cake. He found it odd that telling one person made him feel this much better.

Nico was so preoccupied in his daydream, that he didn't notice that the senate meeting had gotten out. He was walking with a bounce in his step that hadn't been used in years and he bounced straight into a certain black-haired commander who tumbled straight to the ground.

"Hey!" She cried, looking up. When she saw who had run into her, she quickly got up and waved off the throngs of people who were offering to help her up. Ignoring the weird looks that screamed '_what are you doing with a creep like that?'_ she brushed the dirt off her toga and followed the young boy through the streets.

"We have to stop bumping into each other like this Di Angelo." She said with a huge grin that made her look at least six years younger, and 1,000 times happier.

"Oh, I was under the impression that you enjoyed my company." At first, Reyna couldn't place the humor in Nico's voice. Usually, people were too petrified to make a joke around her. If anyone would crack a funny around her, it most certainly wouldn't have been Nico.

She let out a laugh and then sobered up. "Listen Nico, about this morning."

"It was nice." He said quickly. "But I know you don't have time to hang out with me."

"No!" it came out more desperate than she had planned. "I mean… Yes, but I meant what I said about 'dropping in' anytime."

He gave a quick tilt of his head in agreement.

Reyna heard voices calling her and she gave Nico a last smile. "Friends?" she asked. In, her life, not once had she ever said those words.

She had already turned around by the time Nico had responded, but she heard his grunt of consent. What she didn't she, was the look of triumph and joy that had flashed on his face. He had finally done what he had always wanted to do in his thirteen years. Make a friend.


End file.
